gopher65 t1_it13dx1 wrote on October 20, 2022 at 4:04 AM

Reply to comment by the_zelectro in The Earth is subjected to a hail of subatomic particles from the Sun and beyond our solar system which could be the cause of glitches that afflict our phones and computers. And the risk is growing as microchip technology shrinks. by Sariel007

You need about 10 metres (not a typo) of concrete to have a reasonable chance of shielding against a GCR strike. Lead just makes the strikes worse, so you can't use it. Bulk matters as much as mass for this type of shielding.

I don't know about you, but my phone would be pretty heavy if it had a 30 foot radius sphere of concrete around it to shield it from high energy strikes.

Edit: scratch that. It would be a dome, not a sphere, because the bulk of Earth protects you from the direction of the ground. That makes this shielding much more practical.

the_zelectro t1_it15ba0 wrote on October 20, 2022 at 4:23 AM

If it's a critical enough thing, I say do it.